Yardage indicator for handcart

ABSTRACT

A yardage indicator to be mounted on a manually driven handcart, such as a golf cart, having a friction wheel adapted to ride on either wheel of the cart to drive a reduction gear mechanism as the cart wheel rotates, the output of which is connected to a pointer which rotates around a dial to accurately and visually indicate the yardage traveled by the cart. The pointer is frictionally connected to the gear mechanism output shaft to permit a manual resetting of the pointer to any mark on the dial without affecting the gear mechanism. The indicator is provided with adjustable mounting means to compensate for different cart designs and different diameters and tracks of cart wheels.

United States Patent Murphy, Jr. et al.

[54] YARDAGE INDICATOR FOR HANDCART [72] Inventors: Robert H. Murphy,Jr., 6242 Lake Forest; William G. Goetz, 6346 Tanglewood, both of GrandBlanc, Mich. 48439 [22] Filed: Mar. 21, 1969 [21] Appl.No.: 809,123

[ Feb. 22, 1972 3,250,466 5/1966 Tomlinson ..235/95 3,458,128 7/1969Tillman ..235/95 Primary Examiner-Stephen J. Tomsky Attorney-Bamard,McGlynn & Reising [5 7] ABSTRACT A yardage indicator to be mounted on amanually driven handcart, such as a golf cart, having a friction wheeladapted to ride on either wheel of the cart to'drive a reduction gearmechanism as the cart wheel rotates, the output of which is connected toa pointer which rotates around a dial to accurately and visuallyindicate the yardage traveled by the cart. The pointer is frictionallyconnected to the gear mechanism output shaft to permit a manualresetting of the pointer to any mark on the dial without affecting thegear mechanism, The indicator is provided with adjustable mounting meansto compensate for different cart designs and different diameters andtracks of cart wheels.

2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEB22|972 v 3,643,860

SHEET 1 BF 2 mvsmoas ROBERT H MURPHY'JR ATTORNEY Pmtmmmzz I972 3,643,860

3 sum 2 or 2 INVENTORS ROBERT H. MURPHY, WILLIAM G. GQETZ ATTORNEY 1YARDAGE INDICATOR FOR I-IANDCART BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field ofthe Invention The invention refers in general to odometers for measuringactual distances traveled by a ground vehicle and more in particular toa yardage measuring device for a manually propelled handcart, such as,for instance, a golf cart.

2. Description of the Prior Art Yardage indicators for handcarts areknown in the art, especially as applied to manually propelled golfcarts. Devices of this type are known which are attached to the golfcart to accurately indicate to a person operating the golf cart on agolf course the distance he has to move his cart from the position wherethe ball has been hit to where the ball comes to rest along the fairwayor on the green, thus permitting the player, since the distance betweenthe holes is known, to determine the remaining distance to the next holeand thereby enable him to select the proper club for his next shot.

Known devices of this type are, for example, disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.2,724,361 to R. S. Coffin; 3,202,353 to J. E. Nowack et al. and3,250,466 to N. P. Tomlinson. 1

However, these known devices, although sufficiently accurate to measureand indicate the traveled distance, are nevertheless unsatisfactory forthe desired purpose in that they are generally relatively expensive andprovide difficulties in attachment to the cart unless the device isdesigned for a particular structure of cart. They are furthermoredifficult or impossible to adjust to various wheel diameters and wheeltracks of the many different designs of carts available. If used with afoldable golf cart, the known devices have to be disassembled before thecart can be folded, thus further increasing the inconvenience whichhitherto prevented these devices from general acceptance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a universallyadaptable improved yardage indicator for various designs of handcarts.

The present novel device consists of a housing enclosing a reductiongear mechanism, having an input shaft and an output shaft. Mounted tothe input shaft is a friction wheel adapted to be placed in surfacecontact with a wheel of the handcart so as to be rotated thereby whenthe handcart is being moved and thereby drive the reduction gearingwithin the housing. The output shaft of the reduction gearing isconnected to a pointer for rotation of the pointer at a rate determinedby the ratio of the gearing. The pointer is adapted to travel around adial provided outside of the housing, which is circumferentiallyprovided with indicia for indicating the distance traveled by the cart.The housing is mounted on a bracket which, when installed for actuationof the device, overlies the wheel of the cart horizontally and which isprovided with a longitudinal slot along which the housing can be movedto accommodate various wheel spacings. The housing bracket is pivotallyattached to a clamp adapted to secure the bracket to a strut of the cartalong which the clamp is adjustable up or down to compensate fordifferent wheel diameters.

A primary feature of the present novel device is the provision ofspring-loaded means to retain the device in operating position on thecart wheel, and permitting the device to be swung into an inoperativeposition alongside the strut of the cart when the cart is to be foldedtogether, thus eliminating the bothersome necessity of having to detachthe device if the cart has to be folded together.

Further novel features and distinctive advantages will become apparentby reference to the following detailed description in connection withthe appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings show apreferred embodiment in which:

FIG. I is a side elevational view of an exemplary handcart showing thepresent novel device in attached position in engagement with a wheelofthe cart;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective closeup view of aportion of the cartshown in FIG. 1 showing the device being swung out of position and intoinactive position to enable folding of the cart;

FIG. 3 is a still further enlarged top view of the present novelindicator device shown in operating position on a wheel of the cart;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the present novel device inoperating position on a wheel of the cart with the top plate remove toillustrate the internal gear mechanism;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the clamping bracket used to attach thepresent novel device to the strut member of the cart permitting thedevice to be selectively swiveled and retained into an operativeposition on a wheel of the cart and into an inactive position forfolding of the cart;

FIG. 6 is a cross section through the bracket and the strut member ofthe cart to more clearly show the construction of the bracket and theresilient retaining means as seen along line 6-6 of the structure shownin FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the attacheddrawings, FIG. 1 illustrates the present novel device as being attachedto a golf bag cart, which may be of conventional construction.

Golf bag carts, such as illustrated in FIG. 1, are known and usuallycomprise a framework of strut members which may be attached to eachother in such way that the cart can be folded together to facilitate itstransportation. These carts are generally used to carry the golf clubbag in order to ease the burden of carryihg a plurality of heavy golfclubs around the course.

As illustrated in the drawings, an exemplary golf cart 10 comprises acentral vertical strut member 12 for the support of a golf bag 13 towhich is attached a handle 14 for manual propelling of the cart alongthe ground 16 of the golf course. The strut 12 has a depending legportion 18 for standing support of the cart. 4

Intermediate the upper and lower end of the central strut I2 areattached by means ofa connecting member 20 two pairs of diagonal struts22-24 respectively, which are each adapted to support at the lower endsa wheel axle 26 adapted to support a pair of oppositely disposed groundwheels 28-30 by which the cart 10 may be moved by pulling or pushing thehandle 14.

The frame of the cart, as illustrated, is constructed such as to befolded together by means ofjoints 25 between the various strut membersfor convenient transport to and from the place of use.

The present novel yardage indicator device, which is generally indicatedby the reference numeral 32, comprises a housing 34 mounted to a bracket36 which is pivotally secured to an adjustable clamp 38 provided at oneof the outer ones 22 of the pair of diagonal struts 22-24. In thedrawings, the device is shown as being attached to the strut 22 tocooperate with the wheel 28. By means of the pivotal connection to theadjustable clamp 38, the indicator device 32 is able to be swung out ofposition as shown in FIG. 2 if it is desired to fold the cart 10together.

In the operating position, the indicator device 32 overlies the wheel 28and has a dial 40 inscribed on its face which cooperates with arotatable pointer 42 to visually indicate the yardage traveled by thecart. To rotate the pointer 42, a frictional contact wheel 44 hasprovided outside of the housing 34 which in the operable position of theindicator device is adapted to be in frictional contact with thecircumferential surface 29 of the wheel 28 by which, upon rotation ofthe wheel 28, the contact wheel 44 will be rotated to thus rotate thepointer 42 by means of a mechanism enclosed within the housing 34, whichwill presently be described.

With particular reference to FIG. 4, the frictional contact wheel 44 isintegral with a worm shaft 46 which is supported for rotation within ahousing annex 35 formed integrally with the main housing 34 at one sidethereof so that the worm shaft is disposed in a.direction transverse tothe wheel 28. The

worm shaft 46 is integrally provided with a worm gear 48 which is inconstant mesh with a spur gear 50 rotatively supported on a shaft 52which is disposed within the housing 34 along an axis normal to the axisof the worm shaft 46. The spur gear 50 is integrally provided with areduction gear or pinion 54 supported on the same shaft 52 and which isin constant mesh with a larger gear 56 supported for rotation on a shaft58 which is disposed parallel to the shaft 52 within the housing 34. Thelarge gear 56, similar to the foregoing gear arrangement, is likewiseprovided integrally with a reduction gear or pinion 60 supported on thesame shaft 58 which is adapted to be in constant mesh with the finaldrive gear 62, which comprises a large spur gear supported for rotationon a shaft which is disposed parallel to both shafts 52 and 58 withinthe housing. Frictionally engaged on the end of the shaft shaft whichcarries gear 62 within the housing 34 is a knob 64 which in turn carriesa pointer 42. Knob 64 and pointer 42 normally rotate with the gear 62.However, the knob 64 is attached to the end of the shaft of gear 62 by amere frictional engagement such that the knob 64 and the pointer 42 maybe independently rotated relative to the shaft of gear 62, thus, topermit the pointer 42 to be reset manually without effecting rotation ofthe gear 62. During such resetting the worm gear 48 acts in the usualfashion to prevent rotation of any of the intermediate gears. Thehousing 34 and annex 35 are split along a central horizontal plane toprovide a housing proper and a cover 66 which in assembly is attached tothe housing proper by means of screws 68 (FIGS. 2 and 3) and on whichthe dial 40 is provided in registry with the underlying gear 62.

In operation, as the cart wheel 28 rotates, it turns the contact wheel44 by frictional contact with the radial wheel surface 29. The contactwheel turns the worm gear 48, which in turn rotates spur gear 50 andreduction gear 54 integral therewith. The pinion gear 54 then rotatesgear 56 and its associated pinion gear 60 which drives the final drivegear 62 to thus rotate the pointer 42 around the dial at an angularspeed determined by the compound ratio of the reduction gearing in thehousing 34. The pointer accurately measures and marks the yardagetraveled by the wheel 28. As mentioned before, the pointer 42 can bemanually reset to zero or to any mark on the dial 40. In this way, thegolfer is able to set the respective hole yardage while on the tee bymanually moving the pointer 42 to the respective mark on the dial. Thepointer upon rotation, as the cart is moved along the fairway, willalways accurately indicate the remaining yardage to the hole after eachshot. Alternately, the rotation of the pointer can be changed fromclockwise to counterclockwise by changing from a righthand worm to aleft-hand worm. For lightweight construction, the housing 34 could bemade of aluminum and the gears of plastic material or both the housingand the gears could be made ofa molded plastic material such as nylon.

With particular reference now to FIGS. 2, 3, and 6, the present yardageindicator device 32 is adjustable attached and supported on a novelbracket assembly 70 which includes the elongated bracket 36 to which theindicator housing 34 is mounted and which is pivotally connected to theadjustable clamp 38 for adjustable securcment to the strut 22.

The elongated bracket 36, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, is providedwith a longitudinal slot 72, which provides a means for attachment tothe housing 34 thereto by means of a screw 74 adapted for extensionthrough the slot 72 to be screwed into the bottom wall 33 of thehousing. It is further to particularly noted from FIG. 3 that by theloosening of the screw 74 the housing 34 can be moved back and forthalong the slot 72 in relation to the spacing of the wheel 28. The bottom33 of the housing 34 is provided with spaced longitudinal parallelridges 37 between which the bracket is retained to hold the housing andbracket in alignment. By tightening of the screw 74, the housing isretained in the adjusted position along the bracket 36.

Inwardly of the wheel 28, the end of the bracket 36 is provided with anoutwardly and rearwardly extending arm or tongue 76 which is providedwith an aperture 78. The end of the tongue 76 extends between opposedarms 80 and 82 of the clamp 38 which rearwardly are each provided withopposed semicircular extensions 84 and 86 respectively which are adaptedto fit around the cart strut 22. The opposite arms 80 and 82 are clampedtogether by means of a screw 88 and nut 90 to retain the arm extensions84-86 in position around the strut 22. Thus, by loosening of the nut 90the clamp 38 may be moved up or down on the strut 22. The front end ofthe clamp arms 80-82 are inwardly provided with opposed trunnions 92-94which are adapted to fit into the aperture 78 of the tongue extension 76of the bracket 36 to thus provide a pivot bearing for the bracket inassembled position of the clamp to permit the bracket 36 together withthe indicator housing 34 attached thereto to be swung out of the way fordisposal alongside the strut 22 as illustrated in FIG. 2 when the cart10 is being folded together.

In the assembled position of the device 32 on the wheel 28, the bracketand housing assembly is resiliently held down on the wheel by means of aspring 96 which is secured to the clamp screw 88 for extension along theoutside of either clamp arm 80-82. The end of the spring 96 has atransversely bent hook portion 98 for engagement with a notch 100provided at the upper surface of the bracket tongue 76 so that in theoperative position of the device, as in FIGS. 3 and 4, the springretains the pivotal bracket in position and exerts a resilient force topermit yielding ofthe contact wheel 44 as it rotates on the radialsurface of the cart wheel 28 to compensate for irregularities in theradial surface of the cart wheel.

If it is desired to fold the device into the position as shown in FIG.2, the hook portion 98 of the spring 96 need only be removed from thenotch 100 whereafter the bracket 36 can be swung upwardly.

By means of the present novel arrangement an effective and accurateyardage indicator device for a handcart has been provided which isprovided with novel adjustable support means to compensate for variouscart designs and varying wheel diameters. In addition, the device can beconveniently folded up out of the way to permit folding of the cart.

The present invention may be embodied in certain other forms withoutdeparting from the essential spirit and characteristic thereof,therefore, the present embodiment is to be considered in all respects asillustrative only and notrestrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription.

We claim:

1. A yardage indicator for golf carts and like devices having rollingground wheels supports by struts, the indicator comprising: a clampreleasably fastenable to a wheel strut; a bracket having a tonguepivotally connect to the clamp and a flat elongated portion having anelongated slot therein, means for selectively securing the tongue in theclamp in at least two angular orientations; an indicator housing,fastener means extending through the slot and into the housing forselectively securing the housing in various linear positions relative tothe bracket and, thus, relative to the strut; said housing having meanscoacting with the bracket to define a preferred angular orientationrelative thereto; a shaft rotatably carried by the housing, a contactwheel on the shaft and engaging a; ground wheel when the tongue is inone of said two angular positions but disengaged from the ground wheelwhen the tongue is in the other angular position; a gear set carried bythe housing and rotated by the shaft when the contact wheel is driven bya ground wheel; and indicator means operated by the gear set to monitorthe distance traveled by the ground wheel. j

2. A yardage indicator as defined in claim 1 including a springselectively operatively connected between thel clamp and bracket forproviding a bias on the bracket toward said one angular position.

1. A yardage indicator for golf carts and like devices having rollingground wheels supports by struts, the indicator comprising: a clampreleasably fastenable to a wheel strut; a bracket having a tonguepivotally connect to the clamp and a flat elongated portion having anelongated slot therein, means for selectively securing the tongue in theclamp in at least two angular orientations; an indicator housing,fastener means extending through the slot and into the housing forselectively securing the housing in various linear positions relative tothe bracket and, thus, relative to the strut; said housing having meanscoacting with the bracket to define a preferred angular orientationrelative thereto; a shaft rotatably carried by the housing, a contactwheel on the shaft and engaging a ground wheel when the tongue is in oneof said two angular positions but disengaged from the ground wheel whenthe tongue is in the other angular position; a gear set carried by thehousing and rotated by the shaft when the contact wheel is driven by aground wheel; and indicator means operated by the gear set to monitorthe distance traveled by the ground wheel.
 2. A yardage indicator asdefined in claim 1 including a spring selectively operatively connectedbetween the clamp and bracket for providing a bias on the bracket towardsaid one angular position.